Pollard Family

This page was revised on October 27, 2007. The main new point added on that date was proof that Francis Pollard's wife Betty married a second time, and very likely moved to Alabama with Harris Toney, her second husband. See the Second Generation below for full discussion.

Francis Pollard was probably born about 1720 based on his first appearance as a tithable in his father's household, and other circumstantial evidence. By 1749 he was living in Cumberland Parish, Lunenberg Co. VA, working as a blacksmith. He bought land in 1753 on Otter Creek, Lunenberg (now Bedford) County, from John and Mary Phelps, thought to be the parents of his wife Betty. He died in Bedford County in the summer of 1771 His estate was finally settled in 1780.

Second Generation

Children of Francis Pollard and Betty Phelps
Thomas Pollard (ca. 1750-1835) m. Chizia (Keziah?) Hunt in 1778
John Pollard (ca. 1760-1821) m. Catherine Nichols in 1787
Mary Pollard m. William Melton before July 1780, moved to Lawrence Co. IL
Susannah Pollard m. John Loaden before July 1780
Judith Pollard m. Joseph Goin September 1780, moved to KY and then MO; she died after 1830 in Howard Co. MO
Sarah Pollard married Thomas Payne about 1783
Jane Pollard m. William Mason in 1785
Betty Pollard m. Flayl Payne (1761-1843) error in name corrected 7/10/05
Frances Pollard m. Zachariah Kennett in 1798

Previously I listed another child, Elizabeth Pollard who married Harris Toney. This was based on the estate settlement of 1780 in which Elizabeth Pollard Toney received one share, and from which most people have concluded that she was a daughter, despite there being another child named Betty in the same family.

In October 2007 Mark Parsons questioned this, primarily on the basis of two key facts:

Second, Francis Pollard's will specifies that in case his widow remarries "that then the said Estate Shall Be Taken out of her possession and an Equal Childs part of my Estate Given her and her heirs forever". This therefore accounts for her receiving the same amount as the other children in the 1780 settlement.

Descendants of Harris Toney and Elizabeth or Betty (Phelps) Pollard lived in Madison Co. AL. I don't know yet when the family moved there, or if that is where Betty died. If you have information on this family, please contact me.

I don't have birthdates for most of these children, but the marriage dates, mostly from Bedford County, probably give some indication of their relative ages so I have arranged them in this order, leaving the three for whom I have no marriage information at the end.

Mary E. Austin and James H. Austin were children of William N. Austin, brother of Elizabeth Austin Pollard, so were first cousins to their Pollard spouses. John Mortimer Austin was a more distant cousin, son of Alexander Austin.

Fifth Generation

Francis Thomas Pollard enlisted in the Confederate Army in March 1862, and served in Capt. Hensley's company of the 10th Battalion Virginia Heavy Artillery He became ill during the summer of that year and came home, where he died on August 4th. The cause of death was listed as "brain fever".

He is buried in the Austin family cemetery in Bedford Co. VA, with the following inscription:

Sacred To the Memory
of My Husband
F.T. Pollard
Died Aug. 4 1862
aged 37 years

Sleep on beloved, in thy quiet home
Free from all pain and strife
Sleep on unmindful of the tears
Of her thou once call'dst wife.

In 1870 Mary Ann married Ellis Holcombe, with whom she had two daughters, Katherine (1871-1930) who married James Robert Smith, and Janie (1875-1965) who married Walter Carter.

Other Resources

POLLARD family DNA project
If you're a male Pollard, especially one with roots in Virginia, please consider participating. We need this evidence to sort out the early Pollard families. I will help pay for a test by a proven descendant of one of the men whose names are listed above in red.